This invention generally relates to hunting blinds, such as may be used by sportsmen for hunting waterfowl, or by naturalists, photographers, etc., and in particular to such a hunting blind comprising a fabric enclosure having moveable side panels defined at least in part by a resilient framework that is biased towards an opened condition of the hunting blind, such that the side panels tend spontaneously away from each other and towards a radially extending configuration to expose the occupant of the hunting blind.
Hunting blinds have for years been widely used among hunters, naturalists, photographers, and other outdoor enthusiasts. Essentially, such blinds comprise a personal shelter or enclosurexe2x80x94oftentimes camouflaged to blend in with the surrounding environmentxe2x80x94in which one or more individuals may remain concealed from detection by game or other wildlife.
Significant requirements for hunting blinds are both portability and ease of deployment. It is oftentimes necessary for a hunter, naturalist, or other outdoor enthusiast to travel far from civilization in search of wildlife, and so the need for a relatively lightweight, easily man-portable blind is acute. And once on site, it is desirable that the blind be easy to set-up in as little time as possible.
In the past, hunting blinds have taken numerous forms, ranging from simple tent-like structures, exemplified in such publications as the AMERISTEP 2000 Hunting Accessories Catalog, to more elaboratexe2x80x94and less portablexe2x80x94structures, such as the pit blind of U.S. Pat. No. 5,822,906.
Tent-like structures have heretofore been made that are easily deployed by virtue of a construction about a loop of spring steel material. U.S. Pat. No. 3,960,161, issued to Norman, for instance, teaches a tent-like structure including a single, continuous loop of spring steel material biased to the shape of a tent. This framework of spring steel material is covered in a suitable fabric. Due to the resilient nature of the spring steel material, the tent of Norman may be readily collapsed into a more easily portable size while, upon unfolding, the frame springs into its biased shape to yield the fully deployed tent.
As exemplified in the disclosures of Ward, supra, as well as those of Latschaw, U.S. Pat. No. 5,647,159, Hill, U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,823, and Zibble et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,936, it is known to provide hunting blinds with rapidly opening closures, so that a hunter may more effectively obtain a sporting shot at a point in time when the game animal is within range of the enclosure. Zibble et al., for instance, teach a portable field blind characterized by an elongated frame assembly. The blind includes a pivotal canopy hingedly connected to the frame assembly and adapted to open upwardly as a hunter moves from a laying to a seated posture. To facilitate rapid opening of the canopy, the device of Zibble et al. is taught to include an elongated spring connecting the canopy to the frame assembly. As the hunter exerts a slight upward force on the canopy during movement from a laying to a seated posture, the spring pulls the canopy rapidly open.
Unfortunately, numerous prior art hunting blinds, such as those described above are characterized by complex construction, a feature which makes their portability and easy deployment difficult, if not impracticable. Similarly, prior art attempts at hunting blinds with rapidly opening closures have been unsatisfactory for a variety of reasons. There consequently remains a need for a rapidly-opening hunting blind that is at once economical to manufacture, conveniently portable and easy to deploy, and which overcomes the drawbacks associated with the prior art devices.
The specification describes a rapidly-opening hunting blind comprising a fabric enclosure including an opening and moveable side panels at least partially defined by a resilient framework, the moveable side panels at least partially defining a closure for the opening. The hunting blind has a closed condition, wherein free ends of the side panels are releasably connected to at least partially define a tent-like closure for the opening, and an opened condition, wherein the side panels extend radially outwardly and expose the opening. The resilient framework is biased towards the opened condition of the hunting blind such that when, in the closed condition of the hunting blind, the connected free ends of the side panels are released, the side panels tend spontaneously away from each other towards their radially extending configuration.
According to one feature of this invention, the resilient framework comprises a substantially continuous, generally elliptical framework. This framework may, according to another feature of the invention, be made of spring steel or coil steel, though other materials of comparable character may also be substituted. Per a further feature, the resilient framework is foldable so that the hunting blind is collapsible to a storage configuration.
According to still another feature, the side panels include complimentary fastening elements by which the side panels are releasably connected in the closed condition of the blind. These complimentary fastening elements may, per one feature of this invention, comprise hook and loop type fasteners.
Per yet another inventive feature, one of the side panels is provided with means for rapidly releasing the connected side panels in the closed condition of the blind.
According to still another feature of this invention, the fabric enclosure further includes a bag-like portion adapted to receive the lower body of one or more occupants.